I’m generally skeptical whenever anyone asks for money. Today I came across a charitable organization that, at first, appeared to come from a legitimate organization. They sounded different than the scams I have seen and they caught my interest. They had a nice website and were almost convincing.
I am registered on a website that helps pair up volunteers with charitable organizations needing help (http://www.idealist.org/). I’d like to be able to do some good in the world and this morning I was excited to get the following email which I assumed was from my contact information on the volunteer website.
Dear Warren,
My name is Harvey XXXXXX and I am the HR manager for Glen Hamilton Foundation. I have just found your information at one of the employment portal and I think that you would be interested in two job opportunities at Glen Hamilton Foundation: CSR (20 hours weekly) and Corporate CSR (30 hours weekly). Both positions involve a lot of responsibility, attentiveness and independence, but they are well rewarded. Annual incomes of CSR and Corporate CSR are US $32,400 and US $65,600, respectively.
Warren, if you are self-reliant enough to work at the convenience of your own home or office, and if you are a quick learner and ready to develop your customer service and management skills, please contact me and I will give you a very detailed account of these vacancies.
It sounded interesting to me, the type of thing I’d love to do so I Googled them and came up with nothing, which was a huge red flag. I went to the website in the email (www.ghamiltonhome.org). It looked and sounded great. The type of thing I’d absolutely love to be a part of…but I still wasn’t sold.
I did a whois on the domain name and my enthusiasm melted. The address was registered two weeks ago in China (http://whois.domaintools.com/ghamiltonhome.org). I went back and looked at the website closely. It says their main office is in the Netherlands and they have job openings in New York (but no New York contact information). Then I read some of the job descriptions and it infuriated me.
They are looking for people who will be paid out of commissions from the donations they process (7%). They also talk about how urgent it is to process each donation immediately so that that charity can be performed on time. First it appears they are preying on people’s desire to do good by soliciting donations. And second, they are getting other people to do their dirty work all under the guise of working for a charitable organization.
I have filed a complaint with the BBB, the Attorney General, sent the information to the Seattle Times, and notified idealist.com.
I would love to be wrong here because I would have been eager to help promote a cause like this. But from everything I have found, it’s a total fraud. But more than that, it’s a step up from the typical email frauds we have all grown to know and hate. They’ve built up a website and gone even further to trick people into doing their bidding. And they try and leverage our desire to help and do good in the world to do it. It really pisses me off.
Based on the evidence I’ve gathered…it looks like a total scam and I hate to think of the people they are tricking into giving money and lobbying for them. If I’m wrong about this…somebody let me know and I’ll be one of their biggest advocates.
July 27th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Whois Record for the ghamiltonhome.org website:
If you goggle the company (Xin Net Technology Corporation) you’ll quickly see they are not newcomers to fraud. It’s easy to find personal information of the people involved too…looks like one of them lives just north of me a couple hours in Vancouver. I should stop by and say hi…
Domain ID:D156636334-LROR
Domain Name:GHAMILTONHOME.ORG
Created On:13-Jul-2009 04:52:22 UTC
Last Updated On:13-Jul-2009 04:53:03 UTC
Expiration Date:13-Jul-2010 04:52:22 UTC
Sponsoring Registrar:(R118-LROR)
Status:TRANSFER PROHIBITED
Registrant ID:43huop8j991kh4
Registrant Name:QingFen
Registrant Organization:Qing Fen
Registrant Street1:Xi An City.China
Registrant Street2:
Registrant Street3:
Registrant City:Xi An
Registrant State/Province:Shanxi3
Registrant Postal Code:235467
Registrant Country:CN
Registrant Phone:+86.4951095771
Registrant Phone Ext.:
Registrant FAX:+86.4951095771
Registrant FAX Ext.:
Registrant Email: lixing688@gmail.com
July 28th, 2009 at 5:43 am
Thanks for this post. I just received an email with the same dialoge you posted. I searched myself and found your blog. Again Thank YOU!!!!!
July 28th, 2009 at 7:32 am
Interestingly when I went to do some digging myself (and I don’t know all the tricks you both did) the first thing I came across was, well, this blog. Whenever I get an email with such poor grammar that purports to be from, well, someone who should have better grammar I get a wee bit suspect. After seeing what you came up with, I’m debating whether or not to just delete the e-mail or send it out to my local media/authorities (I’m in Virginia).
Thanks for helping warn the world.
July 28th, 2009 at 9:24 am
I responded to the email yesterday to see what would happen. They emailed me back today and gave me more instructions on how to start my new job with them. Based on the email, I think at least one part of their scam is to convince people they are working for them processing donations. Then you are sent a “donation” which you deposit in your bank account and immediately wire the money to them. What I’m guessing happens is that a couple days later, the deposit you made does not clear the bank and because you have already wired them the money…you are SOL. Or maybe they string you a long with smaller amounts in order to nail you for a large sum down the road a bit.
July 29th, 2009 at 9:32 am
I received the same e-mail you received. I was very interested as well, but when I searched for more information I got the “red flag” when I came up with nothing. I performed various searches with different key words and finally came up with your post here. I’m very disappointed. In reference to the old adage, “If it sounds too good to be true it usually is,” I was hoping this would be the exception to the rule. Thank you for posting this information as it kept me from continuing my search.
July 29th, 2009 at 9:59 am
This is one of the better executed frauds I’ve seen. The website is well done and they’ve even hired some proficient English speaking writers. My original worry was that they were actually soliciting donations and hiring clueless people to do the dirty work. I hate fake charities, playing on people’s desire to help. It’s terrible.
I’ve still been stringing them along, curious about their process. I filled out the information and have received a contract from them. It doesn’t appear they’ve connected this website with my application yet. And it looks like they aren’t trying to get actual donations to their false charity.
The contract says “contractor will be responsible for getting donations from regional manager by mail in the form of checks or money orders, reporting the donations, accumulating them and distributing them via Western Union or bank wire to the families per instructions.”
This is trick has been used plenty of times before. If you sign up with them, you will receive checks and money orders. They will pressure you to wire them immediately (so the impoverished families can receive their relief without delay and the risk of not getting it at all) and then a few days later the deposits you made will bounce and you will be powerless to recover the funds you have wired. Anytime you see “Western Union” and “Wire Transfer” in a request from a stranger, you are almost guaranteed that it is a hoax. The minute you send it, it’s gone forever.
July 30th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
thanks,warren.
i searched this company as well,and it sent me right here. thanks. i have reported this fraud as well.
July 30th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
I received this same email last night and googled the foundation this morning to check out the validity of their company. I live in the Seattle area and happened to hear of such a scam on the local news a few months ago. You are right about their scam, sending you a ‘bogus’check to deposit into your bank account !! The local Seattle tv news reporters are seriously warning everyone to avoid those emails that offer you a ‘good deal’. . .’if sounds too good to be true it’s a hoax’ !
July 30th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Thanks I just got the email and searched there name on google and came to your site.
July 30th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Definitely a scam. I got the same email and wrote back out of curiosity to let them know that i am a CEO of my own company and to ask where they found my name. They simply responded with the next set of instructions – completely ignoring my response. Now I knew I was dealing with a bot so I replied with a response to spamhaus and a few other places that blacklist phishing sites. The bot simply replied with an address and password to log in to fill out my application.
I am guessing they will need bank information in order to deposit my payment.
F*ckers. It’s an evil thing to do in this economy.
-p-
July 30th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
I received the same email and did my research and that’s how I found this blog. The sad part is that someone will really being searching for a job and will get caught up.
July 31st, 2009 at 8:16 am
Thanks Warren. I received same email and thanks for posting these details. It helped me to confirm that it is a scam. I hope every body who receive such emails will be saved from your posting. thanks again.
July 31st, 2009 at 9:54 am
Thanks for the post, Warren. I did not believe the unsolicited offer for a job was anything but fraudulent, but I was curious. There are organizations that do this kind of work. I think Habitat for Humanity is above board.
July 31st, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Same email!! Wow I am a new mom looking for a job to do from home. The email got my hopes up.
July 31st, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Thank you for the information. I got that same email, and was doing a google search to find the company when I stumbled across your post.
July 31st, 2009 at 4:17 pm
My g/f got this e-mail and I immdeately knew it was a scam, part of my job is to uncover and expose scams and scammers. Good job with your post!
oskoz@hotmail.com
July 31st, 2009 at 4:58 pm
I just received this email a little while ago. Thanks for your post on this!
August 1st, 2009 at 8:02 am
Their website looks good on the surface. But if you dig a little, they put names of supposed US legislators who either don’t exist or, are not from the states they say. Two minutes to see they are a scam!
August 1st, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Thanks for your blog – got this email the other day, and usually I can spot these a mile away, but actually sat and read it and even thought to go to the website to see if they were real; but then left it. Tonight I decided to go do some more digging and found your site on Google; thanks.
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:05 am
I also just received this email. I do have my resume posted on a job search site, so I receive offers on a regular basis. When I do, however, I take the time to research the company first to see if they are legit, or if they have complaints against them with the BBB. Unfortunately, all offers I have received have been from scams or from legitimate companies who have many complaints against them. It’s sad that we have to watch out for these things, but I’m glad you posted this blog to keep others informed. Thank you!
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:21 am
I received the same email, they picked me up off of a job posting site, so it seemed legitimate. Of course when jobs seem to good to be true they usually are. Thanks for this post, I was doing all I could to search them out myself, because I did not believe it. I am glad you turned them in. This stuff is really sickening. I would have never agreed to use my own account any one that does is a fool, that has scam written all over it.
August 3rd, 2009 at 11:01 am
Me too. Google sent me right here. Thanks for doing the digging for me.
August 3rd, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I, too, received this e-mail and had a sneaking suspicion something was not right. Thanks so much for this posting. What looks too good to be true, usually is.
August 3rd, 2009 at 5:15 pm
i received this email, signed up with the program and made thousands. these payments are real.
NOTE INSERTED FROM WARREN: Funny thing, crooks who set up this scam don’t even realize that it’s not the allure of the payments/job that is the draw for a lot of us. It’s the thought of doing good in the world….something you wouldn’t have a clue about. But, Mike (or whatever your name is…and if you really are involved with this company), why do you do stuff like this? Seriously? I’d like to know what is going on in your head…or in this case, what isn’t.
August 3rd, 2009 at 5:18 pm
I got the e-mail and replied back asking for more info. I did a lot of searching on their website to find out how enlightened I was with all the hard work they are doing for helpless people. I noticed their Netherlands main office which I thought was odd. The whole e-mail seemed too good to be true. Google brought this page up. I could not find anything else on them! I kept thinking why haven’t I heard of them if they’ve been doing so much. Well, of corse I did this all after replying with my resume for the job offer. Good luck to you all looking for a job out there and trying to do the right thing by helping those who are unfortunate. Thank you for posting this!
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Thanks for the info. I find it interesting that when I did my Google search the only thing I find is still your blog. I did my own whois search and came up with h same info. (Ddn’t want to fall prey to someone saying it’s a scam when it isn’t). I have to say that my first red flag was actually the amount they say they will pay a CSR. I can imagine it’s possible but not very likely for a CSR to make 60 K. Anyway, again thanks for the info.
August 4th, 2009 at 6:03 am
I just forwarded my email to the FTC at Spam@uce.gov
August 4th, 2009 at 8:23 am
just got the same exact e-mail you did, warren – and i assume everyone else here.
“My name is Ian White and I am the Senior Human Resource manager for Glen Hamilton Foundation.
I have just found your e-email at one of the job portal
and I believe that you would be interested in two job vacancies
at Glen Hamilton Foundation: CSR (twenty hours weekly) and Corporate CSR (30 hrs weekly).
The positions involve a lot of attentiveness, independence and responsibility, but they are well paid.
The salary of CSR and Corporate CSR are US $32,400 and US $65,600, respectively.
Hwa, if you are self-reliant enough to work at the convenience of your own home or office,
and if you are a quick learner and ready to improve your customer service and management skills,
please contact me and I will give you a very detailed account of these vacancies.
Sincerely,
Senior HR manager, Ian White
Glen Hamilton Foundation”
i work in the legal industry – and of course i threw both Glen Hamilton Foundation and “CRS” through every search engine i have access to. when the search engines i have access to don’t bring up a name … i know it’s no good.
August 4th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Thank you for your blog. This was a wealth of information. Now, I won’t waste my time. I have been looking for a change. When I got the Foundation email it sounded interesting. But, like you I investigate first.
Thank you for caring and sharing.
August 4th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Appreciate the post… you must have a better tagging system with Google than they do!
August 4th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Thanks for posting this – I received the email and knew it was a fraud. When I saw your post and found a little about what they are doing – please email me any updates on your efforts to expose them
August 4th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
You are correct, it is a job scam, a victim taking the job would be receiving fake checks, the victim would be responsible for all lost monies due to fraudulent checks.
I am reporting the site for suspension… job scam.
August 4th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Well done on the post. Saves us all time and money!
August 5th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Thanks – I received their email last night. Their website is very convincing, and I could have forgiven the poor grammar knowing they were from the Netherlands. I was still sceptical, so I sent them a fairly generic email last night and received a response about how all their funds are first deposited to the “contractor/employee”, then wired to the company. HUGE red flag!! Thanks for posting your research, hopefully it saves a lot of people from such a scam!
August 5th, 2009 at 9:53 am
OK, I have found out that this scammer is a run of the mill, money laundering, check scammer, a list of his other domainS found listed below. Check out bobbear site
which is a scamfighting site.
breakthroughincorporated.com
bobbear(scamfighting site)
http://www.bobbear.co.uk/jimmy-hudson-international.html
http://www.bobbear.co.uk/vincent-black-international.html
http://www.bobbear.co.uk/kenneth-shelton-international.html
August 5th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
I just want to say thank you Warren for posting this. I, too, was very skeptical after receiving the same e-mail. The Senior HR Manager in my letter has a different name which is Fernando Mitchell. This is yet another one of the many red flags since it is highly unlikely that one company will have four Senior HR Managers. I’m sure there are more out there. In any case, I Googled the company’s current name and all I could find was this blog. Seems to me, and any other reasonable person, that if this were a legitimate organization, one would be able to find a massive amount of information about this company via the web. Quite simply, it doesn’t exist because they are fraudulent.
I know times are hard for many people all over the world. After all, everyone has to find a way to feed themselves and their family. Nonetheless, the morally inept people who prey on others kindness and goodwill sickens me to no end. Whatever happened to earning an honest living?
Thanks again for your post Warren and thank you ETB for the information you have provided as well. I pray that everyone else who receives an e-mail from this company will find your site before they are taken advantage of.
August 6th, 2009 at 5:48 am
I received the same e-mail two days ago, I replied by telling them I am definately intested in the position they were offering. I am an HIV counselor who recently lost my job due to cut backs and crooked management. I have been looking for a job that I can do from home because my mother suffers from Alzheimer’s so I need a job with alot of freeodom in case she needs me since October. I was excited to think I could possibly have finally found something. This game is not only fraudulent but cruel. Fortunately, I decided to google the company before I gave them all of my personal information. That is when I found this site. In the present economy it is very likely that more people will fall in to their trap. I also intend to report this fraud. Thank you for your time to build this page, if not for you I and many others would fall in to this trap.
Janet Johnson
August 6th, 2009 at 6:49 am
Thanks Warren for posting info. I decided to google and your website came up. Thanks ETB too.
August 6th, 2009 at 7:18 am
Thank you all for the email. I am usually very leery about these sort of scams, but being on several job search websites and in serach of work, this one was a little tricky! I was concerned, however with the nature of the emails I had received and did a search, like most everyone else. The first thing that I came across was this blog. I am grateful to you for posting this and saving me time and headache! THANKS AGAIN!!!
August 6th, 2009 at 8:03 am
Thanks for putting the word out there. I, too, got this email and I knew it was a scam as soon as I saw the salary ranges for the hours worked. I searched anyway to see exactly what kind of scam it was and that’s how I stumbled across this site. Thanks for putting up the warning.
August 6th, 2009 at 9:37 am
Hey I got the same email/same dialogue.. Thanks for saving me the trouble!
August 6th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Just like your other 40 respondents, I, too, received this email. My “HR Manager” was named Craig Olson. I got the email about a month or so ago and just filed it for future follow up. Well, I finally got around to that follow up and because I have been an attempted victim of internet fraud scams before, I decided to investigate them. Nothing from the BBB. So I googled the company name and lo and behold it brought me here.
Thanks alot Warren, and all of the respondents who also did your homework. Let’s keep getting the word out on scam operations. Like the one I also got, listed below:
Hello Marcus,
Our company works in the sphere of finances.We are engaged in different money transactions such as money transfer, investments and many other dealings. You will be in charge of accomplishment different assignments such as paying the bills of our company in your area, money transfer services, getting transfers of our customers on your bank accounts, making different payments, receiving and sendig e-mails. In case you fulfill our assignments properly and in time you will be promoted to the higher position and have some training courses to improve your professional skills. As soon as you complete the courses you will work at the office of our division in your area.Your promotion highly depends on how well you fulfill your first assignments.
Using of your personal bank account is completely safe. You will get your wage on it and in case of urgent need we will transfer money to your bank account. Using this money you will need to pay for the expenses of our company. First of all you need to fill Application Form in Microsoft Word and send it back by e-mail. Whether you can print it out, then scan it and sent to e-mail.
Best Regards,
Senior Manager, Kate Primsley.
Although this is an obvious scam (they work in the “sphere of finances” and they need to use our bank accounts) some might be taken in anyway. Maybe we should start a page on this one. Can you show me how?
Thanks again,
Marcus
August 6th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Thank you for this post. I received that same email today…and having worked on various arts councils as an adjudicator, I thought it might be legit. When I googled it, I found your blog…and you saved me A LOT of trouble. Much appreciated Warren! Warmly, Elizabeth
August 7th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Thank you to the person who did the research on this scam! I received the email and landed here. Sometimes the wealth of information on the web can be a blessing, rather than a curse, like this scam.
August 7th, 2009 at 7:59 am
I just received the same e-mail and I am looking for work, which is very difficult in the Detroit area. This really pisses me off! Thanks for your blog, I saved myself the heartache and time involved in this scam.
August 7th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I got the exact same email. Thanks for posting what you found out about “Glen Hamliton.org.” I can delete the email and not worry any more if I’m missing a great job opportunity.
August 8th, 2009 at 12:18 am
I did receive the same e-mail from a Mr. Sutton. I found the foundation’s website by using the information from the e-mail. I was just curious and followed the instructions to preview the so called contract. The first page asked for my SSN to complete the Form 1099 for income tax purposes, but stated that I could skip that step and provide it at the end of the year . Obviously, I did not provide that information.
August 8th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Thank you. Just received one of these bogus letters. I’m naturally skeptical and more so lately, so followed up and eventually found your site. Thanks for posting this information.
August 8th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Got the email, Googled, found your site, SAVED by the bell! Thank You!!!!! Love the photos!
August 8th, 2009 at 10:37 am
Hello! Like some of your other responders, I received this email from this company and found your blog here. I’ll save the email from these people in case you want it for litigation purposes. I came up with the same results as you other folks did as well. Glad I have a suspicious mindset on this kind of stuff. Thank you for posting this info.
Regards,
Kelli Lynne
August 8th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
Ok so I was a little too late I was actually dumb enough so submit they application that they sent me. It didn’t ask for anything but my mailing address no personal info was required such as date of birth or social or anything but they give you a contract and everything. Its says that it will take 2 business days to process your application I hope I didn’t just do something really stupid.
August 8th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Don’t worry, Jenna, you are fine. They will harass you via email and you will probably get a check in the mail. They will want you to deposit the check into your account and wire them them money. Don’t do it. Their check will bounce and once you wire the money, it’s gone forever and you have been hosed. They might try to make you feel guilty and even threaten you with legal action (oh the irony) saying you have the check and you have to send them the money. But you are safe and don’t have to do anything.
August 10th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Thank you so much Warren! They are now going under the name LChapmanFoundation.org. This is extremely painful as I am a young student and wanted so much to be a part of a company that builds homes for people. It sounded great so I sent all of my information (inc. SSN). I googled the site, but since this is new and they’ve changed their name to Luis Chapman Foundation I found nothing on this scam until after I sent my SSN and info and heard nothing back from them. This is actually quite painful since I was looking forward to my new position helping needing families.
August 10th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Warren,
not only is Jenna safe, but she needs to turn in the check or money order to the police. This same scam happened to your cousin Stacey and she just about sent the money back! Luckily she figured that something was up and got it all straightened out. She had to turn it in to the police and then it went to like Home Land Security and they went after them. Great job on the info.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Thanks Warren – good job
August 10th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
More info here: http://www.bobbear.co.uk/ivan-meyer-international.html
August 11th, 2009 at 10:40 am
OH NOOOOO!!!! I’m an idiot! I actually filled out the “W-9″ they sent me – WITH MY SS# – what do I do????
August 11th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
Kelly, don’t worry. They aren’t really after your SS#, they want your money. When they send you a check you might consider doing what David suggests and turn it into the police or send it to your Attorney General along with copies of the emails they have sent you.
August 11th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Thanks a lot. I’m searching for a job and got the same pitch from Christopher XXXXXX. I yahoo’d the foundation name and thankfully got your site first. Thanks for saving me a lot of time and energy. But most of all, thanks, because I didn’t get my hopes up to be more than dashed. I could have been taken in this scam. May God Bless you in all your endeavors for good! If you need help of a office manager with IT and auditing backgound check me out on Monster.com
Be Blessed and enjoy the day!
Harold
August 11th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
I hope so – thanks for the vote of confidence in my stupidity! I was very careful to make copies of everything I submitted to them. I will definitely send it all in to the authorities! I’m so glad I read all of this before I deposited a check – then I would have been really upset. I can’t tell you how much this information has helped me – thank you so very much!!!
August 11th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Thanks for this information. I received the same e-mail, and same pay, same information about the application and contract. What a shame. People are looking for work on-line and these people are taking your information and trying to get innocent people excited about their bogus job offer.
August 12th, 2009 at 9:36 am
Thanks for the information here. I also received the same e-mail and my research brought me here to your information. Just a note if you were to cash their check and wire the money you are responsible for the amount when it doesn’t clear. If you can’t cover the amount you could end up in big trouble with the law.
August 12th, 2009 at 2:32 pm
thanks! i got the same email…
August 17th, 2009 at 11:48 am
Thanks, I received the exact same email
August 19th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
Thanks, I just recieved one too.
August 20th, 2009 at 6:38 am
I thought I was beyond getting suckered! I guess I really didn’t…but it’s only because I came across this website before I did. This was the only thing I found negative about this “company”. I quickly checked your data only to be red faced at the horror. I almost got got! Thank you for posting.
August 21st, 2009 at 4:47 pm
I have recieved the same email and followed up to the point of getting the contract agreement. It sounded too good to be true so I googled it and I see everyone is getting the same impression. It is a fake.
August 22nd, 2009 at 8:17 am
As someone who has worked with Non-Profits in the past and also loves to hear “MOVE THAT BUS!” I got an immediate emotional connection going after receiveing the same email and checking out the website. A few minutes on the website reading dated news and less than professional job postings and reason started to creep back in and take control. A trip to Goggle and this site as the first stop and I’m saddened by the reality that there are immoral people that prey on our good human natures – and for the good people that get caught up in these schemes. I also take heart and give thanks for people like Warren that are not only watchful but step up and offer to protect others. Thanks and God Bless
February 17th, 2010 at 12:49 am
I thank you for posting this warning also. I received mine on my 3rd e mail address. I’m just getting it now but it was originally sent to me on 8/7/09. My Senior HR Manager’s name was:Alexander Brooks. I went to check it out & found this blog…Thank You again !!! Best of everything to all of us who at least try…………..